Gaming
National Video Games Day: Why Studios Choose Hyper Casual Games Development
Doug Borghese
Sep 12, 2022
Sep 12, 2022
Gaming
On this National Video Games Day in 2022, finding a game that appeals to you is pretty easy. With the accessibility and intuitive UX of game engines like Unity and Unreal constantly increasing, dev studios small and large are now pumping their creativity into gaming projects, satisfying mainstream as well as niche interests. Bottom line: if there’s something someone wants in a game, somebody is creating it, and they’re doing so faster than ever before. Those same studios also now consider hyper casual gaming development a winning bet.
More and more, hyper casual and casual games are topping the list of popular genres. Still a relative newcomer to gaming, this exponentially explosive game genre/type has particularly taken off on mobile. Development icons like Voodoo and Lion Studios have cemented their place among hyper casual’s most well-known studios, and both of them exist within the mobile space.
So why has hyper casual games development become so incredibly popular, not only for fans of games themselves, but also for the mobile developers and publishers launching them?
The first of many reasons that hyper casual games have become such a cultural hit is where the game type began its life: smartphones and tablets. Smart mobile devices quickly evolved into much more than tools for communication; each one effectively became its own mini-computer. With continuing developments and innovations in mobile hardware, phones and tablets have more graphical processing capabilities than ever before. This has put self-contained gaming systems in the palms of people’s hands, and everyone has them.
Because of the ubiquity and usability of mobile devices, 71% of the casual gaming audience are mobile gamers. Here are some more truly interesting stats about mobile gaming, and hyper casual in general:
The advent of mobile has created a much more diverse audience for games than has ever existed before now. As such, hyper casual games are made to be an integral part of the overall mobile experience.
Along with the prevalence of the devices that hyper casual games were first developed for, hyper casual games are created in the same vein as any other essential phone app: with quick understanding and entry in mind. They are built to be simple enough to jump into and enjoy during someone’s idle time—in the middle of commercials, while commuting to work, and, let’s be honest, on breaks in certain rooms that often contain baths.
Since the pandemic, we’ve all been finding more idle time than ever before. Work has become more remote, and playing/socializing on our connected devices has become flat-out common. It’s no surprise that those conditions have further spurred the popularity of hyper casual games.
With mobile hyper casual gamers playing for 20 minutes per game and cycling between 3 games per day, having a portfolio of hyper casual games is a no-brainer. In the realm of game development, hyper casual concept testing and turnaround is lightning fast, thanks to its naturally minimalistic mechanics systems and level design. That means getting a trailer up to gauge interest; developing the entire game if it proves to be interesting to consumers; and quickly setting it up for monetization largely through in-app advertising, is easier and quicker than other game types.
With a catchy game and solid ad strategy in place, even if people are jumping in and out of your casual titles quickly, hyper casual is a resource-light way to deliver a fun revenue generating app to an audience whose consumption of hyper casual mobile titles reached 10.7 billion downloads in 2021. Thanks to the instant playability and replayability of these kinds of games, users are consistently drawn in and retained time and again. With an ad roll that is fun (and/or funny), exciting, and relevant, hyper casual studios can actually enhance the enjoyment of their games, build audience trust, and keep those same users coming back for future titles. As long as you serve ads within reason, of course.
With a holiday like National Video Games Day, today is an amazing day for developers to showcase their hyper casual games. With the availability of devices to play on, the ease of use, hyper casual’s universal appeal and playability, and developmental ease leading to profitable titles faster, there has never been a better time to join other mobile studios in hyper casual games development.
Once you have that game ready to go—or if you already have one you’re getting ready to release to the world—consider AppLovin’s ad monetization solutions. Our approach to programmatic ad placements and finding the right monetization opportunities for your ad inventory is unmatched.
We are here to help you grow your apps and accelerate your business.
